A Fight to Come Back Home
by SasuNaruShipper
Summary: Sasuke deems Naruto an interesting enough idiot to kiss on purpose. After hanging out for the next few days, Sasuke suddenly disappears, most likely gone to find Orochimaru. What will happen as time goes by when Naruto tries his best to get his best friend back? What kind of feelings will develop between them while they are apart? SasuNaru Yaoi Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. X3
1. Kisses and Experiments

AN: Hi guys, it's me! I don't have much to say, except to please treat me well~ I spent most of the week writing this (during school, when I have nothing better to do LOL) and this is the first chapter! I'm already thinking about the second chapter, so I hope you like this one! :D

I'm dealing with some personal issues at the moment and this is my outlet, so my chapter release rate sort of depends on what's going on. -shrugs- Life sucks sometimes, but we all have to deal some way, ne? n.n This is the best thing I've written in a while, and I'm very proud. Please tell me if you spot any mistakes, or if you have any ideas or constructive criticism! ^^

Disclaimer: No ownership...sadly.

* * *

Naruto fidgeted as he sat on the bridge railing, waiting for the rest of the team. He was actually early for once, but it was because he didn't get much rest the previous night.

He was worried about his friend. Sasuke's seal had acted up again recently and he had seemed to be in a lot of pain. The fox boy nearly jumped when he heard footsteps close by.

"Dobe. Have you been waiting?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes! I wanna go out and you guys take too long," Naruto whined, hopping off the railing onto the wood paneling of the bridge. There was a small "hn" beside him but he ignored it.

"Kakashi-sensei is going to be late anyways…this sucks!" he exclaimed, feeling restless. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched Naruto, huffing quietly.

"Would you be quiet?"

"Why? You're mean!"

"Sa~su~ke-kun!" Naruto could see a slight shiver run through him as Sakura ran up and hugged him.

"Good morning!" she chirped happily, letting go.

"Hn." Sasuke looked away. Naruto bounced between them, grinning.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan! Ow!" He whined as she smacked him over the head.

"I wasn't talking to you Naruto!" He let out a soft whimper.

"Now now children, be nice to each other." Kakashi smiled, having suddenly appeared behind them on the railing.

"Sensei, what took you so long?!" Naruto and Sakura yelled in unison.

"Well, I found this cat by an alley, and I-"

"LIAR!" The jounin chuckled.

"Well, let's go, since we're all ready," he said as he walked in front of the genin trio. The four walked to their usual training area, Sakura and Kakashi silently listening to the occasional banter between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto bounced up and down beside him. "What are we doing today?"

He was eager, as always, and Kakashi chuckled at that.

"Well, I thought we'd do some sparring or something of the like," he suggested with a shrug.

"We need to get you three back into teamwork mode, and Sasuke needs to learn his limits with his seal." Sasuke scowled but nodded. Naruto grinned as he whipped around to face Sasuke.

"I'm gonna beat your ass today Sasuke!" The dark-haired ninja snorted, walking past him with a smirk.

"You could never beat me, usuratonkachi."

"You wanna bet!?" Naruto challenged. There was a few moments of silence as they glared before they leapt in to fight each other. Kakashi sighed, grabbing their collars.

"That's enough you two. I said we need to work on _teamwork_."

"Hmph!" The two glared again before turning their heads away. Kakashi put the two boys down.

"Now, I want you three to practice hiding your chakra and surprising me. I'll give you two hours to each get a specially marked kunai from me, but you have to find it. Go." The genin ran off in spate directions. After a half hour, the three finally found each other.

"So, what's the plan Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, knowing better than to rely on Naruto. The former stared off into space for a few moments before speaking up.

"Sakura, you'll hide in a place you can easily see the whole clearing. Naruto, you head in first and do what you want – it will distract Kakashi. In that time, I'll attack from behind and Sakura will grab as many kunai as she can. We have fourty-five minutes to do this, and then we'll meet back here."

They all nodded and dispersed, spreading out to three different parts of the forest's edge. There was a short period of silence before birds suddenly shot up out of a close clump of trees. Kakashi turned to face the source of the disturbance as Naruto leapt out of a bush. He charged at his teacher, throwing a few kunai as clones appeared from the bushes one by one. Sakura, who was watching nearby, facepalmed.

"Why does he always have to attack from the front?" she whispered to herself, shaking her head. She watched as Sasuke joined the battle a few minutes after, using his fire jutsu when the clones disappeared. It was a good idea, using fire and smoke to cause confusion.

The pink-haired girl rushed in, finding the kunai in Kakashi's back pocket. She snatched up three of them and ran, only stopping when she hit the bushes and stumbled into her hiding spot. She found she was already in the predetermined meeting spot, but no one was there, so she waited.

"Where were you two? It's been more than ten minutes!" Sakura whined as the boys dropped down next to her, breathing hard.

"We hit…some trouble…" Naruto panted out. Sasuke shook his head, glaring at the blonde.

"It was _your_ trouble that _I_ had to get you out of, dobe!"

"You wanna fight, teme?!" Naruto leapt up.

"You're stupid Naruto."

"Alright you three, you can come out now!" Kakashi called from the clearing, brushing himself off. Sasuke rolled his eyes, getting up and coming out of the brush as Naruto grumpily followed.

'Why does he hafta be so mean all the time? I like him much better when he's asleep,' he thought, huffing. 'Besides, he's annoying. He keeps looking at me, it's so weird.'

He glanced at him and found onyx black eyes searching his. They stared for what seemed like hours before Sakura dragged them off to head home. Naruto stumbled along, very confused. He wasn't quite sure what was going on with Sasuke, but he didn't dwell on it. It wasn't until later that he would understand.

* * *

Naruto looked around in slight awe at the room.

"Man, Sasuke! This room is so clean!" The other teen snorted, crossing the room and sitting on his bed.

"My room is _always_ clean – the exact opposite of your apartment," he said, Naruto whining in response.

"Oi, my apartment isn't _that_ bad, teme! You suck!"

"And you're a whiny dobe." They glared at each other, tension rising.

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Stop looking at me like that!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think I'm looking at you like?" he questioned, face as unemotional as ever. However, there was a flicker of something unrecognizable in his eyes, and Naruto hesitated.

"I…I dunno, but it's just weird!" He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not, but he thought he saw Sasuke frown slightly.

"What's with you recently? You keep staring, and you're always with me, and it's weird!" Naruto fiddled with the hem of his jacket, eyes locked with Sasuke's. The latter sighed.

"You really are stupid…" he said, shaking his head, "…if you haven't realized until now that I've always done that."

"EHHHH!? You've _always_ been weird!?" Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Don't put it like that moron." He got up, walking towards Naruto until the blonde's back hit the wall.

"You know, you're pretty interesting for an idiot. I'm curious how you'll react to this…" he murmured, leaning in slowly. Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke brought their lips together softly, blue eyes locked with black.

'This is wrong, this is so so wrong, but…' He hesitantly closed his eyes and leaned into Sasuke. He put his arms around him, hugging him. Sasuke backed away slightly, gaze searching his. Naruto just rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder, grip around him tightening.

"This is so not like you," the unusually quiet blonde murmured, refusing to let go. Sasuke patted his head.

"Dobe. This kind of thing changes people, you know."

"Really? 'Cause Lee and Sakura don't ever seem much different." There was a sigh above his head.

"It doesn't change _everyone_."

"Oh," he blinked, monving out of his arms. There was a long, awkward silence. Naruto could hear crickets outside and curiously peered out his window.

"Wow…it's really pretty out here…" He plastered his face against the window, eyes wide. "There are fireflies everywhere!"

There was the soft sound of footsteps behind him, and he turned to see Sasuke standing behind him. "They gather around the flowers by the edge of the house sometimes. I've spent nights counting how many there were until I fell asleep."

Naruto blinked.

"I've only seen fireflies once before. I was walking home with Iruka-sensei, and one landed on my hand in broad daylight. It was amazing…" He smiled fondly at the memory, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Sasuke went to his closet and pulled out some clothes. "I'll be back in a moment, I'm taking a shower." Naruto waved and the other left, closing the door.

He smiled and flopped back on the bed, stretching out. 'This is actually pretty nice,' he thought, taking off his jacket and curling up under the covers. 'I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow…' He giggled drowsily, falling asleep within a few minutes.

When Sasuke came back in, he chuckled at the sight that was presented to him. Naruto was breathing softly, curled into a ball on the side of the bed closest to the window.

'That's so like him to just fall asleep unexpectedly,' he thought with a small smirk on his face, turning off the light and joining him in bed. 'Somehow, you might call it cute.'

He stared up at the ceiling for a while, letting his thoughts run until they calmed down. 'Why am I involving myself with him? I may be curious, but I don't have time to think about this. I'm…'

He sighed sleepily, turning so that his back was to Naruto. 'I'm an Avenger. I need to find Itachi. I should leave soon…' Sasuke's eyes slowly closed.

'I'm sorry Naruto,' he thought as he finally succumbed to the black curtain of sleep that was calling.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing to Naruto!?" Sakura shrieked in surprise as Sasuke let go of the lips that had been between his teeth.

"Experimenting."

"Y-You're _experimenting_?!" she squeaked out. Sasuke nodded, face blank.

"He won't wake up, and I've done a lot. I'm trying to see if he'll wake up without being threatened with taking his ramen away." He fiddled with Naruto's jacket, taking it off of him. Sakura stared with a weird look, jumping when she heard a voice behind her.

"Er, Sasuke? What _are_ you doing?" Kakashi cocked his head to the side, arms crossed. Sasuke sighed, irritated.

"Waking the dobe up."

"Then why are his lips bleeding?" He gave the older ninja a look.

"I bit him. Isn't that obvious? Geez…" He rolled his eyes, going back to poking and shaking Naruto until he woke up.

"Nnnn…wha?" Naruto spotted Sasuke in front of him, straddling his hips, and tasted blood as he licked his lips. "What the-"

He was cut off as Sasuke kissed him, licking off the blood.

"You're finally awake. It's lunch time, dobe." Naruto's face turned a bright pink as Sasuke got off of him and offered to pull him up, which he accepted.

"What was _that_, Sasuke-kun!?" Sakura grabbed his shirt sleeve, "Do you really like him like that?"

The teen nodded, pulling away from her grip and taking Naruto's hand. Kakashi noticed as his face turned an even brighter shade of red.

"How about we find Iruka, and then go get some ramen?" Kakashi suggested, smiling slightly. Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Really!? Yes! Yes!" He cheered, jumping up and beaming. The jonin chuckled.

"I'll go get him then. You three meet me at Ichiraku in a few minutes." Sasuke and Sakura nodded and Kakashi disappeared.

"Ramen, ramen, ra~men~!" Naruto chanted, skipping. Sakura shook her head, following the two boys awkwardly.

"So…when did this happen?" she asked Sasuke from behind him.

"Yesterday, after training." He yawned quietly, somewhat tired. Naruto had bounded so far ahead that he had to come back to Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke ruffled his hair and walked between him and Sakura like usual.

'Maybe Sasuke will be happier like this,' the girl thought. Within fifteen minutes, the trio met up with the two adults and headed inside the ramen shop to eat.

* * *

A few days later, Naruto woke up the knocking on his door. Curious as to who it was, he pulled his hat off and changed, going to the door. He was surprised to see a sobbing pink-haired kunoichi at his doorstep

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?" he questioned, hugging her tightly.

"…ke…"

"Eh?" He blinked, watching her.

"Sasuke…he's gone…" Naruto's eyes widened.

"When!?" He wondered if something had somehow gotten him or something.

"Last night…I couldn't stop him from leaving the village," she murmured, pausing for a moment to wipe away her tears.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."


	2. Gone

A/N: Hey, sorry it's been so long you guys~! I've been busy with a lot of school work and couldn't get the motivation to type this chapter up. XD But I **have** been writing the whole time I haven't been up dating. I'll be updating chapters 3 and 4 today and/or tomorrow. :) I hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. ;~;

* * *

"He's…gone?" Naruto's eyes widened, his arms letting go of her.

"Why did he leave? He didn't even say goodbye," he whispered, eyes watering. Sakura shook her head quietly, sniffling.

"I think he left for Orochimaru or his brother. It's the seal…" That made sense to Naruto, now that he thought about it.

'Sasuke's always been out for revenge, I just hope he's okay,' he thought, hands tightening into a fist.

"I'm leaving," Naruto stated, running out of the house. Sakura could only slide down and sit in front of the open door.

"Those idiots," she choked out, covering her face with her hands as tears continued to run down her cheeks.

"That bastard left me! Stupid teme!" Naruto growled out as he raced through the trees.

"I can't even find the direction he went, he must've been going all night long!' He froze, looking around. Not a single branch was bent, he had no clue where Sasuke could have gone. He turned to the east and dashed off again.

He worked all day, even sending multiple shadow clones out so that he could cover more ground. He only stopped looking when the sky became the color of the setting sun.

Tired, hungry, and dirty, Naruto trudged home with heavy steps.

'Stupid Sasuke. Stupid Itachi-bastard. Stupid Orochimaru,' he thought bitterly, letting himself into his house.

Sakura had cleaned while he was gone, and had given him the spare key she used to lock the door after him.

It was nice of her, and he didn't blame her for needing something to do to get her mind off of Sasuke.

'I'm going to bring him back someday,' he thought, determined,

'I definitely will!' Naruto grinned to himself and left his bedroom to go take a shower and get some food before he had to go to bed.

Sasuke looked around, surveying the area around him. He guessed that Orochimaru was nearby, seeing as there were snakes all over the place.

He passed a few ninja as he entered a semi-brightened cave, cautiously watching them out of the corners of his eyes.

'I guess he's been waiting for some time then,' he thought when neither guard made a move to stop him from going in.

"Welcome, Sasuke-kun," a slithery voice whispered in his ear. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, scowling.

"Orochimaru." The snake-like ninja smiled creepily, putting his hand on the teen's shoulder.

"I knew you'd come to me eventually." Sasuke just frowned more.

"You said you'd give me power. What's the catch?" Orochimaru chuckled, eyes narrowing.

"You're smart, boy. The catch, is that you have to stay and work with me – I have some plans that only you can carry out."

There was a nod of consent from the other and a pleased smile from the older.

"Let's get you into some new clothes then, shall we?" He led the raven through the cave to a room that only consisted of a bed, a few lights, and a small dresser.

"There are clothes for you in the top drawer. You may rest for the remainder of the night, and Kabuto will come and tell you when it's time to get up."

He patted his shoulder and left, closing the door. Sasuke sighed and took out his new clothes. It was a multipiece robe, with a rope belt.

'I guess it will do…it might be easier to move in,' he thought, turning it around.

'The clan symbol is still here. Hn.' Sasuke proceeded to redress and then sat on the bed.

'Maybe I should sleep, I've been traveling for two nights…' He dropped down and curled under the sheets exhaustedly.

"Naruto…" he murmured as he drifted to sleep, eyes closing slowly. Not a second later, his breathing evened out and he slept deeply.

* * *

Naruto just stared at the big, white-haired man in front of him.

'Pervy Sage is so weird…' he though, walking off.

"Naruto!"

He froze, turning back to him.

"Come on squirt, we're getting ramen. Let's go," Jiraiya said, dragging him off to Ichiraku.

"Wha?" Naruto blinked, stumbling behind him.

"You need to get Sasuke off your mind for now. You can think about him later." He frowned, staring at the ground as he was led through the streets.

"I know you two got somewhat close, but you can't be weak like this. You have to move on, put your emotions behind you so you can focus on the future instead."

Jiraiya stopped, looking down at the short blonde.

"You get today off, neither Kakashi nor I will train you. Spend time with your friends, but get to bed early. We start at 7 am, at Team 7's regular training ground," he explained.

"Alright." Naruto gave up with a sigh before perking back up.

"Ramen!" He skipped into Ichiraku happily, Jiraiya shaking his head as he followed him.

'How am I supposed to deal with Minato all over again?' he questioned himself, sitting next to the hyperactive kid.

"Hey old man!" Naruto called with a grin.

"Hey Naruto! You want the usual?" He nodded excitedly.

"I'm gonna eat a lot today!" The two older men chuckled at Naruto's statement.

'Just like his father – so energetic and optimistic,' Jiraiya thought, smiling slightly.

"I'll have some miso-flavored too, for old time's sake."

* * *

Sasuke tilted the long blade, easily able to see his reflection.

'It's sharp, it looks like it was just made.' Orochimaru watched him.

"Is it to your liking?" he asked, staring at his face rather than the blade Sasuke was holding.

"It'll work," he stated, swinging it slightly.

'It's definitely different than using normal ninja weapons. I'll have to train much harder to get used to this.'

"Kabuto will take you outside and oversee your training. Karin!" He hissed and a girl with long red hair came out, arms crossed.

"Yes Orochimaru-sama?"

"I know you don't prefer to use it, but please teach Sasuke-kun the basics of using a sword," he asked, eyes narrowing.

She bowed, walking out with Kabuto and Sasuke. The two older nin led the raven into a large clearing.

"Alright new kid, I don't know why you're so special, but Orochimaru-sama seems pretty fond of you. Just don't get a big head because of it," Karin huffed.

"Hn." She took a sword from Kabuto and stood beside Sasuke.

"You have to learn first how to hold it and how to evenly distribute the weight. Put your left hand down first, then your right, like this," she instructed, holding the wooden sword in front of her.

Sasuke stared at her hands, copying her movement. Karin inspected his grip and nodded.

"Good. Now, try to get a feel for the weight of the blade." He moved his hand and arm around carefully. Kabuto was somewhat amazed.

'He's already figuring out the balance of a sword of that scale, and at his age he should be struggling with keeping it upright. Orochimaru-sama chose well, it seems…'

"Alright Sasuke," he called, "that's enough for today. You may practice on your own if you wish."

The boy nodded, focusing on balancing the weight in the other hand. Karin glared at Kabuto slightly, leaving. Kabuto left as well, going to report to Orochimaru.

'I feel like I've seen that kind of red hair before,' Sasuke thought, 'but I can't place it.' He shook his head and sighed, refocusing.

'I **will** kill you Itachi…even if I have to work beside the devil.'

* * *

Orochimaru kept a close eye on him, and while Sasuke couldn't blame him for being suspicious of a newbie, it was concerning.

The pale, long-haired Sennin always watched him eat, train, shower, and Sasuke had a feeling he was being watched as he slept as well.

He sighed and shook his head, focusing on the task at hand.

He was practicing his sword fighting and a moment ago when Kabuto mentioned Itachi, Sasuke realized his anger worked up his chakra so much it could visibly collect up in his hand if he concentrated on it enough.

'If I focus, maybe I could surround the sword with visible chakra, like how Naruto used that red chakra of his,' he thought, smirking.

He was getting stronger already, it seemed. Sasuke focused on the chakra inside him, blocking out any passages to send the power to his hand.

He only stopped when he heard someone call out, "Uzumaki!"

Sasuke whipped around, eyes wide.

"What?! You wanna piece of me!?" Karin yelled, standing up.

"I want…Uchiha…team with…later with Orochimaru-sama." Sasuke only heard part of the conversation, coming out of his daze when Karin walked over.

"Sasuke, come with me. We need to meet some people," she said, grabbing his wrist and dragging him to Orochimaru's room.

"Enter," a cold voice came from the room behind the door before Karin could even knock. The two went in, Sasuke closing the door quietly.

Orochimaru stared at them in silence for a moment.

"Sasuke-kun, I trust your training is going well?" He nodded, arms crossing.

"Then I want you to start patrol during the night. Maybe in a year or so, I can give you a team to go on missions. Karin, you may go. Tell Kabuto I want him here momentarily."

He waved her away and she left.

"I don't want a team." Orochimaru looked at Sasuke, eyes narrowed.

"I may respect your decision at some point, but for now you are not fully trusted by everyone. This will reassure them," he explained to the raven.

The latter growled, coming closer to Orochimaru and bringing him close as he grippeed his robe tightly.

"Stop being my shadow, Orochimaru. I don't take too kindly to people disturbing me." His grip tightened.

"Also…why didn't you tell me that Karin was an Uzumaki!?" Orochimaru shrugged.

"It didn't seem important. She doesn't know who Naruto is, or that she's related, if you must know," he said coldly, smirking.

Sasuke snorted, dropping him and stalking out of the room to go to his own.

'I should rest before I have to go on patrol,' he thought, laying on his bed and slowly going to sleep. This time, Orochimaru **didn't** watch him sleep.


	3. Sasuke

A/N: I know this chapter is shorter, and I'm sorry. I couldn't really find out what to write for this one. XD The next one should be up soon~

* * *

"Naruto, you're finally here!" Sakura smiled, waving. He ran over with a grin, stopping beside her.

"Kakashi-sensei promised we'd meet our new team member, but he's late again," she complained, leaning against the tall wooden fence.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"He's **always** late, Sakura. I'm used to it."

"Yo kids!" Kakashi waved to them as he walked up.

"I was getting some snacks-"

"We've heard that one before, right Naruto? Naruto?" She waved her hand in front of his face. He jumped in surprise.

"Uh, s-sorry Sakura, what was that?" he asked.

"It was nothing important, don't worry about it." She smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Okay…" He went back to staring at the strange boy behind Kakashi.

'His hair and eyes, they remind me of Sasuke,' he thought, curious. He listened intently as he introduced himself as Sai, pulling back his hood.

He was startled out of his musings as Sai came up to him and kissed him.

"E-EHHHHH?!" Sakura freaked out, pulling the now unconscious Naruto away.

"Wh-What was that, Sai!?" The teen shrugged.

"He interests me. So I let him know," he replied simply, as if it were obvious. Kakashi sighed.

"Alright, let's head back until lunch, I'm sure Naruto will be fine after he eats." Sakura nodded, helping him rest Naruto on his back so that he could bring the sleeping boy back home.

'I wonder what Sasuke would've thought of that,' Sakura thought, following Kakashi and Sai with a sad look on her face.

* * *

Sasuke sneezed.

'I have a feeling that someone's talking about me again,' he thought. He shook his head and focused on the argument in front of him.

"Orochimaru-sama, I told you that he shouldn't be up and walking around yet! He was-" Kabuto was cut off as Orochimaru spoke.

"Kabuto, Sasuke has healed fine. Right?" He looked at Sasuke, who nodded.

"Then he will choose whether he wants to do the mission or not. Will you?" Sasuke thought for a minute, eyes staring into Orochimaru's.

If he went, he could run into Naruto, or even Sakura or Kakashi. He wasn't sure if he wanted that.

But he wasn't weak, he could handle it. He was sure that he didn't care for Naruto, much less the rest of his former comrades.

"Yes, I will take on the mission," he said, looking determined. The pale teen turned and left to get ready, retreating to his room.

He spent the rest of the afternoon asleep, only waking to get some dinner before leaving the base.

His mission was to survey the area around Konoha and see what was going on. It was simple enough.

Sasuke headed back to his home town under the cover of darkness.

* * *

Naruto was training in the forest by himself when suddenly he felt a cold presence near him. He whipped around, looking all over the place, but couldn't find anything.

Forcing himself to relax, he sighed.

'I'm just tired, I should head back' he thought, dusting himself off and turning towards the path back to town.

He couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched as he walked around town and up to his apartment.

Right before he went in, just as he put the key into the lock, someone called his name and tackled him. He steadied himself before looking back to see a blob of pink hair.

"Sakura?" She detached herself from him, wiping her tears. Seeing this, Naruto grew concerned and turned toward her.

"Sakura, how about we go inside, and we can talk there?" he suggested, quietly moving some hair out of her face. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"That'd be nice Naruto," she said between sniffles, "thank you." Naruto grinned and unlocked his door, letting her in and turning on the lights.

There was a pause as the kunoichi sat on the couch before she began to explain why she had come to Naruto's house for comfort.

"I was cleaning up room, and I have **that** picture on my nightstand. When I saw it, I…couldn't help remembering…" Her tears began to fall again as she went on.

"It made me so sad, and I started crying again… Oh Naruto, I'm not sure what's going to happen. What if he never comes back? What if he-"

She went silent when Naruto put a finger to her lips.

"He **will** come back, Sakura. Even if I have to break him and tie him up, I will bring him back home! I never go back on my word, you know that!"

He grinned as Sakura giggled and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you Naruto," she said, hugging him tightly.

"I hope Sasuke realizes soon that he has such an important person." Naruto blushed slightly.

"Even if he hates me… I don't want him to make a bad choice and ruin his life…" He hung his head, sighing sadly.

"I understand," she murmured, rubbing his back comfortingly. Naruto sucked in a deep breath, eyes closing as he shifted focus.

Opening them fully, he stood and smiled at her.

"Would you like to stay over? If not, I can walk you home," he offered, "it's pretty late."

Sakura thought it over before replying.

"If you don't mind, I will take up your offer to spend the night. In return, I'll cook you breakfast in the morning, 'kay?"

The blonde laughed.

"Sure, that sounds good to me," he said, getting a blanket and pillow for her out of the hall closet.

"Do you want the bed?" he asked, figuring he'd offer, but she shook her head.

"I'll be alright, thank you," she said as she accepted the pillow and blanket, setting herself up.

"Goodnight Sakura."

"Night." Naruto went into his room and easily fell asleep, the cold feeling in his gut from earlier completely forgotten.


	4. Come Home!

A/N: This is the last chapter I'm putting up for the night. It's a little bit longer than the previous one (although the first chapter is the longest XD). I hope you guys like it!

* * *

Naruto bounded across the street toward the main gate of the village. Seeing Neji and Tenten, he stopped nearby.

"Hi Neji, hi Tenten! What are you two doing?" he asked curiously. Tenten smiled.

"We're on a date!" she said, giggling as Neji's face grew slightly pink.

"We're not! S-She's helping chose a gift for Hinata-sama," Neji grumbled out.

"Anyway, are you headed out on a mission?" Tenten cut Neji off so he wouldn't protest any more.

"Yes," Naruto replied, nodding, "It's a pretty simple one. I have to gather some plants for Tsunade so she can research them and see if they could be used for some medical stuff."

Tenten nodded in understanding.

"Well, good luck! We'll miss you~!" she cheered, dragging Neji off and waving back to Naruto.

Naruto waved back and set off again, headed out to the forest path.

* * *

Sasuke frowned, shifting from the branch he had been resting on and dropping onto the ground.

"Naruto…" he muttered, stalking silently to the main path. 'I can tell he's nearby. The idiot still can't hide himself can he?'

A few minutes later, he could see the blonde humming to himself as he kicked up rocks. Sasuke smirked and quietly moved behind Naruto.

"Hey, usurakonkichi." His smirk grew as the blonde froze, humming stopping short.

"It looks like you're having fun. Mind if I join you?" he asked, murmuring into the teen's ear.

"Sasuke!" Naruto whipped around, kunai automatically unsheathed.

"What are you doing here teme?!" The raven snorted , rolling his eyes.

"So I can't come and see my boyfriend after two years? I thought you were nicer than that," he chuckled. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"I thought we were through, bastard. I'm your best friend, and I still love you, but that doesn't mean you can call me your boyfriend. Remember that **you **left **me**," he growled, not moving from his defensive position.

Sasuke frowned, looking somewhat upset with the other.

"I **had** to leave, Naruto. I have to find Itachi and take my revenge for what he did to our clan. I can't do that fast enough if I stay in Konoha. I'm sorry, dobe, you'll have to wait a while longer," he said with a sad tone in his voice.

Naruto's eyes teared up as his fists clenched beside him.

"Teme…why are you tomenting yourself like this!? Forget about the revenge and come home! Everyone misses you, y'know!"

Sasuke snorted.

"I'm sooo sure they do. They think they understand me, but they really don't," he scoffed, arms crossing.

"…even if _they_ don't…" Naruto muttered, and Sasuke strained to hear him.

"Even if they don't understand, there's someone who does! Someone who understands the pain of being alone, the lonliness you feel as you enter an empty house, the sadness of never truly belonging-"

Sasuke's eyes widened,

"I know everything about isolation! I may not have started out with bonds like you, but I worked hard to make all the friends I have today and I don't want to lose them! Any of them! And I especially don't want to lose **you**!"

He aimed a punch at the slightly taller male's head, but Sasuke caught the fist in his hand, eyes still wide.

"Naruto…"

"Fight me, you bastard!"

As he calmed down, his eyes narrowed and he let go of Naruto's hand.

"Very well. If you win, I…I will go home with you. But if I win, you'll let me go back to Orochimaru and complete my revenge."

Naruto nodded in consent, and the two readied themselves.

* * *

Sakura was standing at the main gate, talking to Tsunade, when Naruto came limping over, a lean, pale body resting over his back.

"Ah, good…baachan! Sakura!" Naruto waved with difficulty. Sakura gasped loudly, running over and supporting his side.

Tsunade's eyebrow raised.

"Is that Sasuke?" she asked, also going over to the former Team 7. Naruto nodded, tightening his slackening grip on Sasuke's leg.

"We're both pretty beat up," he said, his voice rough, "mind if we head straight to the hospital? I can explain everything later."

Tsunade nodded quickly and led them through the town. Not many people were out since it was late and they reached the hospital within ten minutes.

Sakura had ben sent ahead, so there were already two stretchers waiting for them. Naruto carefully put Sasuke down on one, refusing to rest on the other.

Knowing he'd be stubborn, Tsunade led them all to the room where Sasuke and Naruto could stay.

The two kunoichi spent the rest of the night cleaning and healing the boys' wounds as much as possible before leaving them to rest.

Naruto watched Sasuke from the side with a smile on his face.

'Hopefully everything will work itself out,' he thought before drifting off into a much-needed sleep.

Sasuke was confused as he woke up. He could tell that he was in a white room, and that it was strangely dark-ish.

'Naruto!' he suddenly remembered, shooting up into a sitting position and grunting in pain as he did so.

After making a note of his injuries and grimacing upsetly, he focused on the blonde in the bed next to his.

The raven couldn't look away from Naruto, he was…

It seemed like he was shining.

The rising sun lit up the jinchuriki's deep yellow-blonde hair, making it turn a golden-orange color.

Various cuts and bandages covered his whiskered cheeks, but he was still amazing.

Sasuke's breath caught as Naruto stirred, his bright ocean-blue eyeses opening slowly.

"Sas…'ke?" he murmured, voice thick with sleep.

"I'm here Naruto," he replied gruffly, wincing as he carefully stretched.

"Good…" Naruto sat up, smiling.

"You're heavy," he laughed, "I thought I was gonna drop you there a few times."

"You better not have, dobe." Sasuke frowned.

"Nope!"

Naruto's smile widened.

"I carried you all the way back! You didn't wake up for the whole trip, I was worried I'd knocked you in the head too hard."

They heard the sound of a door opening and looked over to see Sakura poking her head inside.

"You're awake!" Naruto nodded at her, yawning.

"You can tell 'em to come in y'know, we're _only_ shirtless," the blonde said, laughing again. Sakura rolled her eyes and mutered "idiot" before disappearing.

Not two minutes later, there was a commotion in the hall, and sasuke's eyes widened as the people filed in: Kakashi, Iruka, Neji and Hinata, Tenten, Kiba and Akamaru.

There was Guy and Lee, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune and Tonton, Shino, Choji, Ino, Sikamaru, Sakura, and some creepy looking guy named Sai.

'So many people…' he thought. Sasuke wasn't even sure he had named everyone or not.

Naruto seemed happy, though he noticed the blonde stayed a safe distance away from Sai.

He momentarily wondered what had happened when his attention was brought back to the present.

"So, so, Sasuke, they said you'll only be here for a few days, isn't that great?!" He jumped, not knowing when the fox kid had joined him on his bed.

"I guess so. What about you," he questioned, worried much more than he'd admit.

"Well, I'm already almost healed, so I can go back whenever I want!"

"Just be careful Naruto, your house was a mess the last time I saw it," Iruka commented with a chuckle.

"It was not! You came in when I was doing a maaassive clean-up!" Naruto huffed, cheeks puffing out.

Everyone laughed – even Sasuke was chuckling at him. It was too cute.

* * *

Naruto was waiting for Sasuke outside the hospital. He was going to be released in a few minutes, and they were supposed to go see Tsunade about something important.

'It's probably about the teme's punishment,"' he thought.

'Baachan hasn't said anything in the past few days about it…'

"Dobe."

Naruto jumped, surprised.

"H-How long have you been there?!" he stuttered slightly. Rolling his eyes affectionately, the raven patted his head.

"I just got here, relax. Let's go see what's going to happen, hmm?" he suggested lightly, taking Naruto's hand.

The smaller nodded and led him up to the Hokage's office.

"Come in," was the reply when Naruto knocked on the door. The two teens went inside and closed the door before walking up to the large desk.

"What's the verdict?" The blonde woman sighed, sitting back in her seat.

"I did some things to get you out of the worst scenarios and said what was necessary. Sasuke, you will be temporarily sentenced to house arrest, for how long I'm not sure yet."

"For a month after that you will be watched by at least one ANBU member. You'll also need to go through therapy sessions."

At the raven's questioning gaze, she explained further,

"I told them you had some…_slight_ mental scarring and social withdrawal from your experience as a child. It was the best I could do. You may choose who you want to talk to, although medical staff would be preferred."

"Do you want your house arrest to take place in your old home on the Uchiha complex or in Naruto's apartment?"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke hopefully. Sasuke met his gaze and stared back as he thought deeply.

"I do wish to stay with Naruto. If he is not available to, I'd rather speak to Sakura about my 'problems.'"

Tsunade nodded.

"You have time today to eat out and move all of your things into Naruto's apartment."

The two nodded in agreement.

"You're dismissed." Naruto and Sasuke went to the door.

"Oh, and boys," Tsunade called to them, causing them to turn around.

"Good luck," she said with a smile. Naruto gave her a thumbs up before pulling Sasuke out of the room and into the hall.

"Those two are gonna need it," she muttered under her breath, sighing and going back to her paperwork.

'You have another tough road ahead of you Naruto, Sasuke.'

* * *

A/N: I need some suggestions you guys! I want to know if I should show their struggles to adapt once again to a somewhat normal life in this story, or make a sequel. Please tell me what you think! I can't wait to write about it. :3


	5. The First Day at Naruto's House

AN: Oh my gosh you guys, I'm soooo sorry about leaving you guys! It took me a while to write this because I didn't have many ideas, and then my internet decided not to let me upload it for some reason. X~X

I'm going to start a highschool AU SasuNaru, I think, and I'm working on the first chapter of that at the moment.

Do you guys have any ideas I could use for this story though? I'm kinda stuck (that's why I decided to look at the highschool AU, to take a small break), and I seriously can't think of anything.

I totally love you guys, and I really love when y'all review, I appreciate it so much! Try to get some ideas in so I can start the new chapter soon~

Disclaimer: As per usual, I don't own _Naruto_.

* * *

Naruto looked around the house Sasuke grew up in. It was really nice – he even had a garden in the backyard! A _stone_ garden!

He didn't get to look at it for long since Sasuke dragged him deeper in to the house, insisting he needed to pack.

"If we finish early, we can have more time for eating. You were wanting to go to Ichiraku, right?" Naruto grinned.

"Thanks Sasuke!" he said happily, glomping him.

"Alright, alright, come on." They went down the hall towards Sasuke's room, and he noticed the raven glare at the door across the hall before going in.

'Maybe that's his brother's room?' he thought, following Sasuke in. The room was pretty average, but surprisingly light colored.

"Hey Sasuke," he started.

"Hm?"

"I expected your room to be much darker than this…" Naruto said slowly, looking around.

There was a snort from the closet.

"I didn't bother painting it, I just slept in my parents' room."

The blonde went quiet, looking through the stuff under his bed.

"I found a photo album!" he squeaked, diving under the wooden frame.

Sasuke growled, coming out of the closet.

"Don't you _dare_ look at those! I swear-"

"OH MY GOD, IT'S CHIBI SASUKE!" Naruto squealed out, legs thrashing in his excitement.

Sasuke's face went bright red.

"N-Naruto! Stop it!" He tried to drag him out from under the bed, but Naruto wouldn't budge.

"No way!" he protested, clinging to the edge, the now-closed album under his chest.

"I'm not coming out!"

"Dobe! Give me that photo album right now or I won't treat you to ramen!" he threatened.

"Nope," he called, "this is better than ramen! I haven't gotten to see this kinda thing before!"

Naruto yelped as Sasuke yanked him out and ripped the album away.

"This is getting burned," he said, voice dark.

"Noooo!" Naruto cried, "_Please_ don't burn it, Sasuke!"

* * *

After a half hour of fighting, Naruto finally convinced Sasuke to let him keep the album. They spent the next hour and a half packing silently.

"Sasuke, this bag's done, we can go now." The other nodded, getting up and grabbing a few of the other bags.

"So, to your house first then?" Sasuke asked as Naruto grabbed his hand and started to drag him out of the house.

"Yup! I'll have to move some stuff around, but we can definitely fit everything," he said, leading the way to his apartment.

It surprised Sasuke that he could still remember the way to Naruto's place after two long years.

It was if nothing had changed.

He could tell it had though, because he could feel the disapproving and hatful stares bore into him rather than Naruto.

He looked at Naruto in confusion when the smaller squeezed the hand he was holding.

"It'll be okay," he said in a quiet voice, smiling back at him.

"Trust me, I've dealt with it for most of my life. They'll eventually leave you alone." Sasuke nodded quietly, frowning as he looked around.

A few minutes later they reached the door to his apartment and Naruto fished out his key so that he could unlock it.

As soon as they were inside and the door re-locked, Naruto carefully dumped his bags on the couch and went into the kitchen.

"Ya hungry?"

"Yeah, what are you making? I thought we were going out to eat," he said, looking confused.

"I thought I'd just make some ramen here, I'm too tired to go out," he replied, pulling out a package of cup ramen.

Sasuke pretended to gasp dramatically.

"Naruto Uzumaki, too tired for Ichiraku Ramen?! The world is coming to an end!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, laughing.

"At least it's ending with you back where you belong," he replied, sticking his tongue out at him.

"Hnn…" Sasuke looked away and Naruto sighed in response.

"I didn't mean it like that, teme." He went over and hugged the raven tightly.

"I'm so glad you're back. Just…don't worry about what's gonna happen, okay?"

He smiled up at him, stroking his cheek softly.

"We'll take it one day at a time. It's like training – do your best and focus on how much you're improving."

Sasuke stared at him, processing what he had said.

"Naruto…"

"Sasuke…"

There was a pause as Sasuke leaned down, pressing their lips together. Naruto's grip on his side tightened as he pressed back.

They stayed together like that for what seemed like hours, only separating when the timer went off to signal that the ramen cups were done.

Naruto blushed and stuttered, going into the kitchen and getting their dinner and two pairs of chopsticks.

"Come on, let's eat on the couch, we can watch a movie!" he called as he came back in, beaming.

"Sure, dobe," Sasuke replied.

Sasuke sat down on the couch and took his cup of ramen and chopsticks, putting them in his lap carefully so he could hold Naruto's while he put in the movie.

Then he joined the raven on the couch, taking his food and digging into his ramen happily.

"Mmmm!" Sasuke chuckled softly.

'Cute,' he thought, smiling slightly before he began eating as well.

They watched the movie quietly.

About halfway though, Sasuke had put away the trash, and when he came back, Naruto had his comforter around his shoulders.

"What?" he whined, pouting. "I got cold!"

Sasuke laughed, sitting next to him and pulling the comforter around his own shoulders as well.

"I didn't say anything, dobe," he murmured, resting his head against Naruto's.

"Whatever." Naruto smiled and went quiet, focusing on the movie again.

Sasuke blinked, glancing over at Naruto when he felt something gently drop onto his shoulder. Naruto had fallen asleep on him, breathing softly against his arm.

Smiling, Sasuke gently brushed the blonde locks out of his face, kissing his forehead.

"You should've just gone to bed, stupid…" he whispered, though he didn't move away.

Sasuke let him sleep as he held him in his arms, beginning to drift off as well.

* * *

Naruto stirred, slowly opening his eyes as he woke up. It was bright outside, and all the birds were chirping loudly near his window.

Sitting up, Naruto wondered when he had gotten changed into his pajamas and gone to bed. Suddenly Sasuke came in, wearing some of Naruto's pajamas too.

"Good, you're awake. It's almost noon you know," he said, watching in amusement as Naruto yelped and scrambled out of bed as soon as he had seen the time on the clock resting beside the bed.

"You should've woken me up sooner, teme!" he yelled, tripping and crashing into the floor, covered in blankets. Sasuke just smirked and shook his head.

"This is so much more entertaining, dobe." Naruto groaned, rolling over and untangling himself from the cocoon of sheets.

"You suck," he grumbled.

Sasuke's smirk widened.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

It took a few moments, but when what the raven had said finally clicked, the blonde's face turned a bright crimson color.

"I'm gonna kill you teme!"

"You love me too much to do that, Naruto," he replied, chuckling quietly.

"Asshole." He got up and stopmed into the kitchen to make lunch for the two of them.

"I'm gonna have to go get some groceries later…" he said to himself, trying to think of what to make with such a near-empty fridge.

There was some stuff he could make sandwiches with, so that's what he did.

Ten minutes later, Naruto went over and put a plate in his usual spot and another across from him for Sasuke.

"Alright, lunch is done, teme!" he called.

"I'm coming, hold on a second," he replied, coming into the room a few minutes later.

"What were you doing anyway?" he blonde asked as the two sat and bgan eating.

"I was fixing your covers, dobe. You _did_ almost rip them off the bed after all," he said, laughing.

Naruto groaned.

"Just shut up, geez!" He ran a hand through his hair, rolling his eyes.

They smiled at each other before resuming their meal.

'This is nice,' Naruto thought, 'I wonder if it'll be like this every day…'


End file.
